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23.01.09

The Laundry Room...

Queensland, or more importantly, the glorious Gold Coast. Long beaches. Great waves. Surfers Paradise. But lots of sun? My friends out here who told me to expect glorious weather were clearly fibbing.

We arrived on a hot and sticky, but overcast afternoon. By the evening we were experiencing showers, so all we could manage was a quick wander around the town, which seemed more like Malia down under, than the paradise we had been expecting, so we swiftly retreated back to the hotel bar and dug in for the night.

The morning of the Gold Coast BDO we make sure we arrive on site a little earlier so we could check out some of the other artists playing at the festival. It has to be said that The Prodigy, in particular, was one of the best gig experiences of my life. Their stage presence and the crowds enthusiasm combined with a bass capable of bringing on a heart murmur, was immense. Even better was watching the look of horror on the faces of the kids who were staying in our hotel as the scary looking trio of Keith, Maxim and Liam from the Prodigy walked by.

So later on with freshly washed joggers donned and Margaritas all round, the Monkeys take to the stage for their first Australian gig of 2009. With it already going dark, and over 50000 rampaging Aussies dancing and waving glow sticks, Al was on great form- crawling under the piano during Red Right Hand. During the gig Matt received a souvenir from some adoring fans, a flag saying, "Who the fuck is Matthew Helders" which he was very pleased with.

We now have two days off to have some fun in the sun- fingers crossed- on the Gold Coast. Wet and Wild tomorrow! I haven't been to a water park since I was 14! Bring it on.